CH_58

These mere genin—each one was better at dodging and running than the last!

Iwa-nin, as a rule, emphasized power over agility.

This male Iwa-nin was probably a typical example, and he was clearly getting frustrated. In a straight-up fight, a chūnin killing a genin was a foregone conclusion—unless something unexpected happened.

But right now, he couldn't seem to make it happen.

Tōji noticed this too, and immediately called out to Natchi and Neru, "Retreat—they can't catch us!"

But retreat couldn't be sloppy. If one person fell behind, the two Iwa-nin would corner them.

Neru was a hundred percent in favor of a tactical retreat. The female Iwa-nin she was facing was too brutal—each swing of that club could snap a branch as thick as a thigh… Neru couldn't easily get close, and she hadn't yet figured out a way to take this woman down.

Natchi was simpler—he was used to following orders, and no one was actively fighting him at the moment. He was just waiting to run with Tōji and the others.

Tōji, while dodging the male Iwa-nin's infrequent attacks, kept throwing shuriken to slow the enemy's advance, gradually moving closer to Natchi.

As for Neru… she could fend for herself. Tōji's priority was making sure he and Natchi could retreat together—that way, the danger would shift to Neru instead.

Of course, Neru wasn't stupid—she quickly leaped onto the same tree as Tōji and Natchi, landing on a high branch near the top.

"Go!" Seeing that all three of them were ready, Tōji moved immediately.

The two Iwa-nin had the advantage in combat power—they would definitely pursue.

It was a gamble now!

A chase involving several people had a higher chance of drawing attention from nearby fighters. Whether the ones who showed up were Iwa-nin or Konoha-nin—that was the key.

But Tōji and the others didn't have time to worry about that. They were at most about two kilometers from where Kenji had been fighting. The odds of making it through were pretty good!

Going all out, the three of them slowly pulled away from the two Iwa-nin chasing them.

But Natchi had been maintaining the 【Cat Cloak】 technique for quite a while—his chakra was running low. If they ran into new enemies blocking their way, Natchi would likely be the first to fall…

This time, luck was on their side. They tore back to the spot where Kenji had first fought!

But! No one was there…

Only the riverbank, ravaged by some kind of jutsu, and the grass by the river—scarred with signs of battle.

Who had won? Who had lost? Where had the two jōnin gone? No idea… Even though Tōji had faith in Kenji, he was nowhere to be seen.

"What now?! They're still chasing us!" Natchi asked.

The moment they reached the edge of the woods by the river where the fight had happened, they were at a loss.

Fight the two Iwa-nin head-on?

Keep running and look for Kenji?

If Kenji wasn't badly hurt, he'd probably follow the river to find his three subordinates.

So they had to double back again…?

"Keep retreating toward our camp!" Tōji made the call quickly.

"Fine—that way's safer!" Neru also understood—the closer they got to Konoha's camp, the higher the chance of running into other Konoha shinobi.

"Go—no hesitation!" Tōji urged, and crossed the river first. Seeing that the two Iwa-nin chasing them couldn't catch up for the moment, Natchi dispelled his transformation to conserve chakra and swallowed a Soldier Pill.

After crossing the wide river, they noticed that the two Iwa chūnin had stopped pursuing them.

"Let's rest and recover a bit—otherwise, we won't be able to handle any new threats in our current state." Neru was the first to speak up this time.

"Alright." Tōji responded, found a tree, and sat down against the trunk to collect his thoughts.